


Cold Night

by Elennare



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-21 11:21:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13739811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elennare/pseuds/Elennare
Summary: Jester and Molly share a watch, and conversation, on a cold night on the road.





	Cold Night

**Author's Note:**

> Set after the 4th episode of the second campaign - slightly canon-divergent because it was written between the 4th and 5th episodes airing, but just... pretend they had another night on the road or something.  
> This isn't a Jester/Molly fic - but I had a horribly hard time coming up with a summary that doesn't seem to imply it (damn 'sharing a bed for warmth' fic trope!).  
> Written for the 'blanket' challenge at fan_flashworks.

Somewhere partway between Trostenwald and Alfield, the weather turns suddenly and unseasonably cold. It’s not so bad during the day, when walking alongside their baggage cart still keeps them fairly warm; but when they set up camp that night, the fire is built higher than usual, and everyone draws closer to it and to each other than they have been doing so far.   
  
Most of the group is sleeping; only Jester and Molly are awake, having drawn the first watch tonight. They’ve been keeping watch in pairs since they started this trip, there’s enough of them to do it, and it feels safer. Both of them are warm enough, something Jester guesses comes from their shared Infernal ancestry, though Molly has pulled his robes closed (Jester thought she saw an instant of regret at that in both Caleb and Fjord’s eyes). The two tieflings have been quiet for the most part, not wishing to disturb the others, especially at the start of the watch when they were just settling for the night. Now, once everyone seems asleep, they begin to talk.  
  
“Is this anything like travelling with the carnival? Did you keep watches with them?” Jester asks, curious.   
  
“It’s… a lot less showy than the carnival,” Molly says thoughtfully. “Quieter, we don’t draw so much attention. I kept watches sometimes, but it was mostly Yasha and Bo’s job.”  
  
“Do you miss it?”  
  
He shrugs. “A little, but that’s the nature of the game with travelling shows. They come into existence, go as long as they can, and then disband, or split, or join with others… It had a good run. I’m glad Yasha will be joining us at some point, though.”  
  
“Maybe we could start our own show!” Jester says, suddenly struck with the idea. “You can juggle your swords and tell fortunes, and Caleb and Fjord and I can do magic, and… what could Beau and Nott do? You would know more.”  
  
Molly chuckles. “Please, tell Caleb this idea when we call him for the second watch, I want to see his face when you tell him you want everyone to look at Nott.”  
  
“Oh, that’s true.” Jester frowns, then grins. “Well, she could pick-pocket the audience while they’re all watching us!”  
  
“That’s… almost not a terrible idea,” Molly says, with a quiet laugh. “Let’s keep that in reserve in case the superhero thing doesn’t work out.”   
  
They talk at intervals for a while, with Jester asking questions about the carnival and Molly telling stories that may even be mostly true. Every so often a sound will come out of the dark, and they fall silent, wide-eyed and watchful; but nothing dangerous appears, and they see nothing larger than a wild rabbit. Jester considers trying to catch it, but it scuttles away as soon as she moves.  
  
As the end of their watch approaches, Molly stands up, saying, “I’m going to circle the camp and check the road before we hand over to Caleb and Fjord, you keep an eye out. I’ll be back soon.”  
  
Jester nods in acknowledgement and watches as he fades into the shadows, more easily than it seems should be possible for someone so ostentatiously dressed. She looks around the camp, making sure everything is as it should be. Everything seems to be in order, as she glances around at the blanket-wrapped bundles that are her new travelling companions. Caleb and Nott are curled up together, sharing their blankets for warmth. The little goblin had been feeling the cold from the moment they stopped moving, and Caleb had wrapped his greatcoat around them both. Fjord seems warm enough too, lying with his back against their horse, who appears to have taken a liking to him (one day, Jester thinks, she’ll have to ask him how a sailor learnt to handle horses). Beauregard looks cold, though. She had claimed not to be bothered by the cold during the day despite her light clothing, and indeed had seemed able to stave it off by sheer stubbornness, but now she’s restless, clutching her single blanket more tightly around her in her sleep.  
  
A few minutes pass, then Molly returns and drops down next to her. “All quiet out there. Was everything fine here?”  
  
“I think Beau’s cold,” Jester replies.  
  
“So?” Molly asks, then grimaces at her look. “It’s her own fault if she doesn’t have enough blankets, just like a monk to want to show off how they don’t feel the elements… but I suppose we can get some more blankets in Alfield if we need to.”  
  
Jester just smiles to herself. They’re still learning how to all fit together, this group with all its secrets and half-trust and unknowns; but she already knows some things, and one of them is that Molly cares about people, more than he pretends to, more perhaps than he would like to.   
  
As they get their blankets from the cart before waking Caleb and Fjord up, he shows it again, shoving his blanket into Jester’s hands. “Put that over Beau, I’ll borrow Caleb’s instead… Just to keep Nott warm, that’s all,” he adds as she smirks at him.  
  
“Of course, that’s all,” she replies solemnly, then wrinkles her nose. “I bet his blankets smell.”  
  
Molly chuckles. “I’ll live. I’ll get him up, you wake Fjord.”  
  
Fjord rises quickly at her touch on his arm, with a shiver as the night air hits him. “How was your watch, any trouble?”  
  
Jester shakes her head. “Everything’s fine. A monster did come to the camp, but Molly and I killed and ate it.”  
  
“Good job,” Fjord replies, grinning. “I don’t suppose you saved any for me?”  
  
“No, but we will next time.”  
  
“You do that,” Fjord says with a smile, and strolls over to Caleb.   
  
The human seems to be taking longer to get up; as she looks over, Jester realises it’s because he’s carefully handing Nott over to Molly, both doing their best not to wake her as Frumpkin flutters around them. She stirs a little despite their care, but settles again as Molly pulls Caleb’s blankets over them both. The sight reminds Jester of Molly’s gentle handling of Toya, and she wonders if perhaps he has younger sisters somewhere, wherever he comes from… Thinking of Toya also brings back the memory of her sweet cracked voice, speaking of Molly’s arrival at the carnival. It didn’t really match with what Molly had told them, but she’s sure the child hadn’t been lying (and sure Molly might well have been, for whatever reasons of his own). Still, it isn’t her business to bring it up with the others, Molly will tell them his story when he’s ready… It isn’t as if he’s the only one holding back, either, Jester’s sure they all have stories still untold.   
  
Yawning, Jester heads over to Beau’s side. After a second’s consideration, she places Molly’s blanket over her, then lies down beside her, so they’re back to back and can share warmth. She tries to be careful in her movements, but she must have jostled Beau without meaning to, for she shifts and pulls away.  
  
“Huh… wha…” Beau says fuzzily, still mostly asleep.   
  
“Shh, go back to sleep. It’s just me, I’m cold,” Jester tells her, moving closer again and pulling her own blankets around herself.   
  
Molly, still awake, catches her eye as she settles into place. “Liar,” he mouths at her in Infernal over Nott’s head.   
  
“So are you,” she mouths back in the same language, and they pull faces at each other. Closing her eyes, Jester begins to imagine what she’ll draw for the Traveller in the morning, and drifts off to sleep.


End file.
